Hansheng Lei came to the United States from China in 2001 with no idea the endless frontier would lead him to Brownsville.

Lei is a professor in the computer science department at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. His academic office on University Boulevard in Brownsville is a handful of blocks away from his business office at a warehouse that’s adjacent to the Veterans International Bridge at Los Tomates. Lei’s AmericaShip warehouse is located about one long block from the bridge that is the ending point for Expressway 77/83. 

“The Endless Frontier” is his company’s motto. A walk through the AmericaShip warehouse backs up the company’s signature line as boxes and packages are stacked up by category and ready for shipment. The destination point for most of these products is Mexico. Much of the inventory will leave in 30 days or less. AmericaShip provides temporary storage and maintains inventory before handling all of the details and logistics for eventual shipment. 

“It’s a simple idea and it’s very needed,” Lei said.

Making A Difference

Lei’s early years in the United States took place in upstate New York. 

It’s where he earned a doctoral degree from the University of Buffalo, the State University of New York. Lei thought of staying in the northeast United States before a 2006 visit to Brownsville altered his view. 

“I could feel Brownsville had a lot of potential and energy,” he said. “I felt like in New York everything is set up, but here the growth felt new. For me, it felt like a place where I could make a difference.” 

Lei began advising companies on how to make the transition from paperwork-heavy processes to ones that utilized computer software to make operations faster and more efficient. It was especially helpful for products being shipped to Mexico with the bevy of regulations and custom rules to complete before products are allowed to cross the border. He began to realize that since “I have the software, I can do this myself.”

In early 2016, he opened AmericaShip with the idea of being able to handle packages and boxes of all types and sizes while having the willingness to handle smaller individual orders. It allowed AmericaShip to find a niche among the distribution companies shipping products to Mexico.

“Other companies want big volumes, not individuals,” Lei said. “We are very flexible.”

Offering Solutions

About 80 percent of the inventory at the AmericaShip warehouse is heading to Mexico. 

Furniture packed in boxes with its pieces ready for assembly is Lei’s most common inventory category. Hair and skin products for women are a close second. Another look around the warehouse shows stacks of laptops in boxes as another popular item ready for shipment. AmericaShip offers 30 days of free storage. The company offers a practical solution for customers who need a place for storage, looking after their products responsibly before the merchandise forwards to Mexico.

AmericaShip works with brokers to get the products across the border and into Mexico. It also offers ground transportation to the immediate side of the Mexican border, contracting with trucking companies there to take larger volume deliveries into the interior of the country. Lei said building a better network in Mexico with his company having more operational presence is the next big step he wants AmericaShip to take. Doing so, he said, will help his company grow its business for products needing to go from Mexico into the United States.

“We have a lot of room to grow,” Lei said of his company. “I believe Brownsville does too. With the port and SpaceX, you can see it, and I still see Brownsville as being young in its potential.”